Mathletes Compete in Local Olympics

Mathletes Compete in Local Olympics

Students from 12 high schools in St. Lucie, Martin and Indian River counties flexed
their mathematical muscles in the annual Math Olympics hosted by the Indian River
State College Mathematics Department. Participants competed both individually and
as teams from Clark Advanced Learning Center, Fort Pierce Westwood, Indian River Charter,
Jensen Beach, John Carroll, Lincoln Park Academy, Martin County, Port St. Lucie, St.
Edward’s, St. Lucie West Centennial, South Fork and Vero Beach high schools.

Competition was fierce as individual opponents started the day with a 40-question
written exam assessing mastery of algebra, geometry and trigonometry. The 10-question
team competition followed with extra incentives for first responders.

Callie Zheng of Lincoln Park Academy won first place in the individual competition,
followed by Joseph Cachaldora of John Carroll High School. Zheng and Cachaldora each
received a full, two-year scholarship to IRSC for their exemplary performance.

Callie Zheng of Lincoln Park Academy was the highest individual scorer in the 2019
Math Olympics at IRSC. She is pictured here with Dr. Heather Belmont, IRSC Vice President
of Academic Affairs, and Dr. Anthony Dribben, IRSC Assistant Dean of Mathematics and
Natural Sciences.

First place in the team competition went to Jeremy Ortmann, Rohan Jakhete, Sol Scholl,
and Varun Lakshmanan of South Fork High School. Vero Beach High School earned second
place with the hard work of Andrew Keller, Chris In, Cody Lanier and Julia Lamothe.
Each team winner received a gift bag with books, school supplies, puzzles and snacks.